<PANDORA, Ohio (WLIO) — The final McDonald's Scholar Athletes of the Week for the 2025-2026 school year comes with a unique twist.

Adam and Jack Buell are a pair of three-sport athletes at Pandora-Gilboa High School, taking part in cross country, basketball and track and field. They are also 4.0 students, and the parallels do not stop there. The two Rocket seniors will both attend the United States Military Academy.

"I would say that's just their competitive nature between the two of them. They both want to be the best at what they do and especially want to be better than their brother. So they compete with each other, and it just makes them both better," said Pandora-Gilboa track and field head coach Clay Atkins.

On the surface, Adam and Jack Buell appear to be an ordinary set of twins, but that could not be further from the truth. Both are three-sport athletes in cross country, basketball and track and field.

"Coming from a school where you only have 30, high 30s to mid 40s graduating in a class, you have to play multiple sports and you have to try your best to be successful at all three of them and all the coaches love it when you're able to play three sports," said Jack Buell.

"I'd say we have plenty of opportunities to play all those sports. I'm thankful that Jack and I have had the opportunity to be successful at all three of those sports, especially track and cross country," said Adam Buell.

Aside from playing the same sports, the twins are just as competitive with each other in the classroom. Adam is the valedictorian while Jack is the salutatorian.

"I do think that they do compete with each other. I know they also help each other because they're so busy that they have to make time. And so they have good time management skills and they have to stay organized, and I believe they have all that it takes to achieve that," said Pandora-Gilboa science teacher Kim Miller.

The similarities do not stop there, as Adam and Jack will both attend the United States Military Academy in West Point, which accepts about 1,350 cadets from roughly 11,000 applicants each year, an acceptance rate of about 12.5%.

"I mean, we were so fortunate to get this opportunity and just being able to go to the same college as my brother, being able to go to a high caliber college, eventually joining the military together, it is a once in a lifetime opportunity. And I think it will sink in once we get there, but I think it's still a shock to us," said Adam Buell.

"West Point's motto is duty, honor, country, and seeing that motto when we first arrived at West Point for a college visit really resonated well with the both of us. That's a big part of why we ended up going to West Point," said Jack Buell.

As the Buell twins embark on the next chapter of their lives at West Point, they said they will always remember the area that gave them the push to succeed.

"Our teachers and our parents have encouraged us to, and community members have encouraged us to take the harder path, you know, and always give back to, you know, our country and the people that have helped us. So it's wonderful that the community of Pandora has given Jack and I that motivation," said Adam Buell.

"Coming from Pandora has just been a wonderful small-town Ohio experience, and just to even wear the Rocket logo, it means the world to both Adam and I," said Jack Buell.

Congratulations to Adam Buell and Jack Buell — our newest McDonald's Scholar Athletes of the Week. >

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